Fears are growing that hundreds of people are dying with coronavirus in care homes but not being included in daily government updates.

Britain's biggest care home operator, C-One, revealed two-thirds of its homes have been affected and more than 300 people have died in them.

Meanwhile, Care England said there have been thousands of cases and deaths in the homes it represents.

Image:The Department of Health says so far 12,107 people have died so far

Care minister Helen Whately explained on Sky News that counting care home deaths quickly is "much harder than in hospitals" because the care sector is "far more fragmented" with many different providers.

She insisted outbreaks in care homes were "almost unavoidable" - despite government advice issued at the end of February and withdrawn in mid-March that said: "It remains very unlikely that people receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected."

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon revealed on Wednesday that 433 care homes have so far experienced outbreaks of coronavirus.

"The residents of care homes matter every bit as much to us as people in the community or in hospital," she said at a news conference.

"In fact, I would say it is more important - given their vulnerability and susceptibility to infections spreading - that we do all we can to prevent infection and also to control it when there is an infection in a care home."

Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics revealed nearly one in 10 coronavirus-related deaths in England and Wales happened outside hospitals in the week ending 3 April, and that those 406 deaths were not included in the daily NHS and Department of Health figures.